Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
Jesus said that he had not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He fulfilled it in two ways. He lived perfectly in accord with the Law and he also has enabled us to live perfectly in accord with the Law.
This may be questionable news to those of us who struggle every day to do what we are supposed to do. Struggling, however is a sign that we have a sincere and deep desire to live as we are supposed to live.
The sacramental principle also enables us to fulfill the Law. The sacramental principle is that Jesus gives us sensible signs of his helping us live properly. Such signs include our gathering to celebrate the sacred mysteries of his dying and rising, and also our gathering as believers in him as our hope of glory. In our daily praying and work, Jesus also provides us strength to live as we should.
He therefore makes it possible for us to fulfill the Law.
Jesus also said that his Law would remain “until heaven and earth pass away” and “until all things have taken place.” Was he talking about two time periods, one his resurrection and the other the end of the world? Probably not because much Hebrew poetry and wise sayings often use doublets much as we do in phrases such as, “six of one and a half dozen of another”.
If Jesus has fulfilled the Law, then he has not done away with the Law. In one sense, we are all Jewish people, living the Jewish Law completely. We should also be thanking our Jewish neighbors for safeguarding the Law for us. It is not far-fetched or beyond reason (note the doublet here) to treat our Jewish neighbors with deep respect and honor for their devotion and protection of the Law.
We have a saying that those who don’t know the Bible do not know Christ. Knowing the Hebrew Scriptures helps us understand who Christ is and what he means to us and the world.